Preparation and characterization of doxorubicin functionalized tiopronin-capped gold nanorods for cancer therapy

Gold nanomaterials are immerging candidates in medical diagnosis and treatment. Among them, gold nanorods (Au NRs) are widely used for cancer treatment. Tiopronin as a novel thiol drug was used to stabilize Au NRs in this work. Doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapeutic drug which works by interacting with DNA to arrest the cell cycle and induce apoptosis, was linked to Au NRs through electrostatic reaction with tiopronin, to obtain Au-TIOP-DOX NRs. Au NRs are also regarded as hyperthermia agents for photothermal cancer treatment. This delivery system (Au-TIOP-DOX NRs) was designed for passively targeting tumor cells in cancer therapy. More importantly, the carboxyl groups of tiopronin can be modified with some biological molecules (DNA/RNA, peptides, or drugs) to make Au NRs as a novel drug-delivery system for cancer treatment.